Not Just a Dance
by vuarapuung
Summary: What if Harry had taken Hermione to the Yule Ball? Could the consequences be further reaching than he could ever have imagined? A friendship torn apart, a woman scorned and a betrayal by those dearest to him.
1. The Yule Ball

A/N: "What if Harry asked Hermione to the Yule Ball?" This is another one of my "What if..." stories that I'd put on hold for a long time but now together. I saw a fic with this premise before that was sappy romantic pile of puke by someone who obviously can't work the F7 key on their computer, but this will be a little bit darker and (this is your warning because I've gotten shit for this before) there isn't a happy ending here.

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"_Ron, I'm going to the Ball with Hermione."_

With the benefit of hindsight there had been no fewer than twenty better times to tell Ron than this, a mere few minutes before he was expected to meet his date for the Yule Ball. In fact, if Ron didn't hurry up there was a very good chance Harry would have met his date before he even had time to tell him.

Right after he had done it ought to have been the best time. Krum had come over to talk to Hermione about something and Ron was fetching some book in the back. It would have been perfect. He would have made a scene, Madame Pince would have kicked him out and rather than being upset about Harry taking Hermione to the Ball he would have been mad at Pince.

Then there was when Ron was laughing about Neville asking Hermione to go. All he would have had to do was confirm Hermione's story about having a date for the Ball then and there. When Ron then suggested he and Ginny go together Harry had even opened his mouth to tell Ron the truth, but Ginny had cut him off by saying she was going with Neville.

She had then shot Harry a rather firm glare. Harry remembered she often would get quite annoyed with her brothers, but to see her annoyed with him was a bit unsettling.

Since then there had been any number of times where Ron had been laughing about Hermione having no one to go with that Harry could have just slipped in that he was her date. Hermione seemed to be getting quite annoyed with Harry as well, as she took Ron constantly asking her who she was going with to be a sign that Harry had not gotten around to telling him yet.

Even now he should go upstairs and tell Ron rather than waiting in the Common Room for him. Ron had seemed very annoyed about his dress robes and had been trying to charm them into looking slightly more respectable (a futile gesture, in Harry's opinion).

"_I feel better knowing you don't have a date as well,"_ Ron had said.

Oh, this was going to be just awful.

People were starting to leave the Common Room and make their way down to the Great Hall. Harry waved at a few of his classmates, including Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas. When Neville came down the stairs, Harry asked him if Ron was coming.

"He was experimenting with changing the colour of his robes to purple," Neville said. "It actually looked worse. He'll give up in a minute and come down."

It wasn't long before Neville's date, Ginny, arrived. Harry personally thought that the pink dress did not suit her at all, but it was probably more than her parents could afford so he stopped himself from saying anything. She may have guessed his thoughts because as she and Neville left she was giving him a very intense glare.

Harry was sitting wondering just how on Earth he was going to break the news to Ron when a girl in a beautiful periwinkle blue came over to where he was sitting. Harry rolled his eyes. It was ten minutes before the Ball and now some girl was going to try and ask him to be her date, as had been happening far too often over the last few days.

She didn't say anything though. Harry turned around to demand what her problem was when suddenly he felt his jaw go slack...

"Her – Hermione?" he gasped.

She looked almost unrecognisable. She'd finally managed to do something with her hair and it was no longer the bushy mess it had been before. Now it looked longer, sleeker and, well, beautiful. Harry suddenly noticed that he had been staring at her for a least a minute and suddenly jumped up.

"Er, you look, um, nice," he choked out. Hermione responded by rolling her eyes.

"Honestly, Harry," she said, but it was half-hearted. She definitely looked a lot more pleased. "Shall we?"

"Er, yeah, I just have to do one thing and I'll meet you down there," Harry said, shepherding her towards the Portrait Hole. Hermione's mood suddenly changed.

"You didn't tell him yet?" she snapped at him.

"I'm still working out the details," Harry replied. Hermione huffed and left, muttering something under her breath about how she should have gone with Krum instead. Harry had been quite pleased when he'd found out that he'd beaten Krum to the punch, even if only by mere minutes. He didn't fancy the idea of his friend going to the Ball with a pervy older student.

Ron was at the foot of the stairs to the Boys' Dormitories almost at the same instant that the Portrait Hole closed behind Hermione.

"Was that Hermione I heard? Was she with her date?" Ron asked.

"Er... no, not exactly," Harry replied. "Listen, there's something I want to tell you about that."

"Don't worry, I won't freak out when I find out who her date is," Ron said. "Assuming she even has a date. Ha!" He slung an arm around Harry's shoulder. "At least we have each other. You'll have McGonagall or something to open the dance with and then you and me can hang out all night."

Harry knew that he would not get another shot at this, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to tell Ron as they made their way down to the Entrance Hall.

When they were there people were already filing into the Hall. McGonagall caught sight of Harry and rushed over to them.

"Mr Potter, you are late!" she called to him. "Get over to the door with your date this instant! Mr Weasley, would you please enter the Hall before all the seats are taken."

"Good luck, mate," Ron said. "I'll walk into the Hall with you if you're embarrassed."

"I'll be fine," Harry told him. Ron shrugged and walked into the Hall, straight past a rather confused looking Hermione. Harry walked over to the other Champions and their dates. Roger Davies was standing beside Fleur and looking like he couldn't believe his luck. Krum was with a girl Harry didn't recognise, but Harry was more interested in Cho and Cedric. He stood beside Hermione and linked his arm with her own the same way that Cedric had with Cho.

"He took it well, then?" Hermione asked. Harry had been staring at Cho and took a moment to realise what she was talking about. He tried desperately not to look guilty.

"Yeah," he said.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" That girl was too smart for her own good.

"Not as such, no."

Hermione huffed again and pulled her arm from Harry's to cross it with the other in front of her chest. The Champions and their dates all looked quizzically at them.

"Right, on you go, Champions," McGonagall said. "You first, Mr Diggory and Miss Chang."

McGonagall ushered the couples forward one at a time, eventually calling on Harry and Hermione last. Hermione reluctantly allowed Harry to link arms with her again, muttering Krum's name again. Harry felt a bit put out but lead Hermione into the Hall. Once inside he scanned the crowd for any sign of Ron. He eventually spotted him sitting next to Neville and Ginny.

By the looks of things, neither Weasley was particularly pleased with him. When he reached the Champions table though, Percy Weasley gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up and gestured to the seat beside him. Harry made his way over to the seat and was about to sit down when he noticed Cedric holding Cho's seat out for her to sit down.

He quickly shot to his feet and pulled Hermione's chair out for her. She shook her head but she gave a faint smile. Feeling slightly better about the night ahead Harry took his seat beside Percy.

Dumbledore stood up to show everyone how to summon food by saying, "Pork chops." Unsure what to really pick, Harry went for the same thing, and around the Hall various people called out their desired orders. Harry glanced at Hermione, worried that maybe she might be annoyed that this would mean more work for the House Elves, but she appeared to be ignoring it and was talking to Percy.

"Mr Crouch is ill, I'm afraid," Percy said. "He asked me to take his place. He's under a lot of strain at the moment, and I'm afraid even great men such as he have their limits."

Harry listened with half an ear as they talked a lot about Percy's work, but really he was more interested in watching Cho, who was giggling at a story Cedric was telling her. He snapped out of his haze when Percy suddenly addressed him.

"I have to say, Harry, I approve very much of your choice of date," Percy said. Harry suddenly felt quite annoyed at Percy. What business of it was his anyway?

"Yeah, well, she's one of my best friends and I thought I'd ask her before someone else did," Harry said. He still hadn't told Hermione that he'd actually asked Cho first and just panicked, but he didn't see any reason to mention it to her.

"Of course, of course," Percy nodded. "She's a very special young lady. She'll go far in life."

Harry had no doubt Hermione was smart enough to be successful in later life, and certainly didn't need telling. But he couldn't understand what Percy was hinting it.

"My little sister though," Percy went on. "I have nothing against Neville Longbottom, per se, but I just think he's a little bit... slow."

Harry knew Neville was thicker than a bucket of paint, but was very annoyed that Percy seemed to think he had any right to say so. Before Harry could snap at him, though, Hermione placed a calming hand on his arm.

"Who's that Viktor is with?" she asked. "I don't recognise her."

"Hmm, Holmes I believe," Percy replied. "Can't for the life of me remember her first name, but she's a Hufflepuff. One of Diggory's old crowd. I imagine he must have set Krum up. From what I hear he's a bit quiet, actually."

Hermione nodded in agreement but didn't say anything more. Before Harry knew what was happening Dumbledore stood up to announce the first dance. Harry suddenly felt himself began to sweat. He had been dreading telling Ron about his date so much that he had forgotten the Champions were supposed to open Ball with the first dance.

"Hermione, I don't know how to dance," Harry hissed to her.

"Oh, Harry, it's easy," Hermione assured him, taking his hand. "You just let yourself move in time with the music."

Hermione lead him to the middle of the dance floor. She took both of his hands in her own, holding onto one and placing the other (to Harry's horror) on her waist. He visibly gulped as the music started up.

Hermione gently lead him in a series of awkward motions. Harry tried desperately not to think of all the eyes staring at him, but Ron had made his way to the front of the crowd gathering around the floor and was cutting a pretty intense stare at him.

Eventually though other people started to make their way out onto the dance floor, lead by Dumbledore with Madame Maxime.

When enough people were on the floor Harry tried to break off from Hermione.

"Oh, Harry, we've got to dance," she pleaded.

"Hermione, I don't dance," Harry replied.

"Nonsense," she snapped at him. "Dancing is fun, Harry, when you get into it. If I'd known you'd be like this I would have come with Krum."

That got Harry exactly where she wanted, and he agreed to stay and try some dancing. Once they had broken out of that awkward waltz and the faster songs started to pick up Harry found himself getting more and more into it, and his motions seemed to be getting more and more excessive, but Hermione seemed to be a lot more pleased so Harry felt he couldn't have been as bad a dancer as he felt.

Several times he found himself dancing with someone else as well. While Fred dragged Hermione around the floor for a frantic lap which nearly involved decapitating someone Harry danced an awkward slow waltz with Angelina Johnson who just looked glad to have a bit of a break from Fred's insanely fast dancing. Harry later enjoyed a brief dance with George and understood why Angelina had been worn out by dancing with one of the twins. He even had a brief dance with Ginny, who tried to drag him off the floor saying she wanted some peace and quiet and that her feet were killing her from dancing with Neville, but Harry was having far too much fun and insisted on staying until Hermione hobbled over from where Neville had put her through similar treatment. His most surprising partner of the night had been Professor McGonagall, who was actually a quite good dancer.

Eventually though he and Hermione were back together, when suddenly the tone of the music changed to one much slower. Harry looked around and noticed, to his horror, all the couples seemed to have pulled much closer to each other and were now looking very cosy. He had been about to suggest that maybe this song was not one for them when he felt Hermione's arms pulling around his neck.

He froze for a moment, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time. Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad. He'd just put his arms around her waist and they'd slowly wander in circles. No big deal. They were friends. This would be cool.

Hermione rested her head against his chest while they slowly spun around. Harry pressed his nose into her hair and took a sniff. Whatever shampoo she'd used tonight to get her hair like that made it smell incredible. For a while they just slowly spun in circles like everyone else.

Hermione slowly raised her head to look at him.

"I'm really glad I came with you, Harry," she said.

"I'm glad I came with you, too," Harry replied. "This has been fun. Thank you."

Hermione lifted her head a little bit more, and Harry felt his breathing suddenly become that much harder. Their lips were so close now. All it would take would be one fractional movement...

She closed her eyes and leant forward. For the briefest of moments their lips gently touched. It seemed to shock Harry at first. She pulled away just enough for their lips to part but her eyes remained firmly closed and now she was talking very deep breaths.

Harry closed the gap between them again, and this time the kiss lasted a lot longer. He lifted a hand from her waist to run it through her hair and pull her closer to him...

Then suddenly Hermione was ripped from his arms, and when he opened his eyes Ron was standing between them, looking utterly furious.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ron demanded.

"Well, what does it look like we're doing?" Hermione snapped back.

"Well, you're acting like some sort of... scarlet woman!" Ron replied. Hermione looked totally gobsmacked.

"Scarlet woman?" she demanded. She drew her hand back and slapped Ron across the face. She stormed out. Ron started to chase after her, and Harry followed in his wake.

"Where are you going?" Ron shouted after her when they got into the Great Hall. Luckily it was quite deserted. Most people were in the Hall dancing, and only a few people had come out to see the result of their argument.

"I'm leaving," Hermione shouted. "You're ruined everything. EVERYTHING!"

"How could you not have told me about you two?" Ron asked. "How long have you been seeing each other behind my back?" Hermione suddenly stopped and turned around to stare him down. Harry noticed tear stained streaks down her face.

"For your information, _Ronald_, there was no _us two_ before tonight," Hermione said. She did not shout, but the anger in her voice was evident. "Harry just asked me to the dance as friends, and tonight we had a lot of fun and, well, I wanted to kiss him." She flushed a little bit before moving on. "If you wanted to go with me to the Ball so badly then perhaps next time you should ask me first yourself, rather than as a last resort."

With that she turned and stormed up the staircase and out of sight, leaving Ron opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Ron," Harry tried to say to him, but Ron suddenly snapped around and Harry felt a blow to his face that sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Don't speak to me, you bastard!" Ron roared at him. "How could you do this to me?"

Before Harry could work out what had just happened he heard Ron's angry footsteps storming off towards the grounds. He heard muttering all around him which didn't help him try and regain his senses, but a strong pair of hands helped to pull him to his feet.

"Harry?" It was Cedric Diggory, probably the last person Harry wanted to see. Shouldn't he have been off with Cho? "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Just a bit of a friendly scuffle," Harry lied. "What do you want?" His tone made it sound like he was accusing Cedric of something, but he didn't care.

"Have you solved your egg yet?" he asked.

"What?" Harry asked. "No." He didn't even feel like lying. Why on Earth was this idiot asking him about his egg when his best friend had just punched him in the face?

"Just have a bath, okay?"

"What?"

"Have a bath with the egg and, you know, splash some water on it. You can just the Prefects' bathroom; it's usually pretty quiet at night. It's on the fifth floor, the fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered. The password is _Pine Fresh_. Got to go here. Want to say goodnight."

Judging by the grin on his face he was away to do a lot more than say goodnight, but Harry let him go. He couldn't care less about Cedric Diggory or the Golden Egg right now. The only thing he could think about was finding Hermione and making sure she was alright. Ron could wait. He'd be fine again in the morning once he'd cooled down.


	2. Cheated

A/N: I have a feeling this chapter is not going to be well received...

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But Harry was wrong. Ron did not get over it. In fact he spent a good portion of the next few years not talking to Harry or Hermione at all.

Harry had expected this to affect him a lot more than it did, but now that Hermione was his girlfriend he found himself enjoying the long periods spent in the library a lot more. Particularly if there was kissing involved, but their relationship had not gone further than that yet.

There had been a brief period in fifth year when Ron had been Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, but Angelina quickly kicked him off due to his horrible performances. He had tried out at the start of sixth year, but Harry had had to call on Cormac McClaggen again. He may have hated McClaggen, but at least he was better than Ron.

Ginny had been a bit of a problem as well. She had been particularly cold to Harry and Hermione during fifth year, but in sixth year she seemed to have at least mellowed out a little bit. Perhaps it was dating Dean Thomas that was helping, or maybe Harry giving her a spot on the Quidditch team had appeased her slightly. Even so, they were far from being best friends.

It didn't bother Harry that much though; what bothered him more was that Hermione still had to do her prefect duties with Ron. In fifth year Harry had tried to convince McGonagall that this was a bad idea, but she had firmly told Harry that unless Hermione came to her and told her that Ron was actually bullying her then she would not allow them to swap prefect duties with other students. Harry had become increasingly annoyed at how Hermione would not admit to even him that Ron had been bullying her during these sessions. He knew Ron must have been horrible to her during a patrol as she often came back from them very shaken.

Sometimes he would make an effort to watch out for them on the Marauder's Map. They never seemed to linger in one place for too long though, so that probably meant they weren't stopping to argue. He didn't want to spend too long watching the map though, because he wanted to get his homework done early. Whenever he finished his homework before she got back Hermione would always give Harry a "reward" that often made Ron's glare even more intense than usual.

Tonight Harry was sitting working on a Transfiguration essay in the Common Room. He sat on his own in the corner where he could get the most peace and quiet. No one ever disturbed him there, as they seemed to know that when Hermione got back they'd just want to disappear into it even further. Harry had the Marauder's Map with him as he always did when Hermione was on patrols, but tonight it quickly became buried under textbooks and pieces of parchment as Harry rummaged through his disorganised notes for the knowledge he was looking for.

While he was working he totally lost track of time, and didn't even think to check his watch until after he'd put his quill down and noticed that the Common Room seemed to have emptied out a bit since he'd started his essay. It seemed a bit odd to him. Hermione was usually back by this time, unless they had run into a student out of bounds and had to report them.

Harry clawed through his pile of notes to pull out the Marauder's Map. He scanned along Hermione and Ron's usual patrol route but couldn't seem to find them. He scanned throughout the whole castle and then finally found them in a room on the second floor, presumably one of the unused classrooms.

Now that was really odd. Harry knew Hermione's patrol route off by heart, and that was nowhere near it. There was also no one else nearby as well. If it was a classroom it was one of the ones that was never used and kept locked at all times. There weren't even any teacher's offices nearby.

Harry's mind began to fill with possibilities. Perhaps they'd just decided to take a different route tonight? But no, they weren't even walking. They were just standing there. Maybe they thought someone had broken in and were looking for anything missing? That still didn't explain what they were doing anywhere near there in the first place though.

Maybe Ron had dragged her off into that room to abuse her. He was standing awfully close to her.

Suddenly Harry felt himself begin to seethe with rage. That bastard! Harry couldn't just sit there and hope Hermione was okay. He had to get down there before Ron tried something funny on her. He was probably already just standing shouting abuse at her. That would be a very Ron thing to do. But he wouldn't have physically hurt her. The Ron that Harry knew would never do something like that.

Then again, Harry didn't really know Ron at all anymore...

Harry snatched up his Invisibility Cloak and the Map and raced out of the Common Room, not even stopping to apologise to Dean who he knocked flying on the way out.

He raced down to the second floor, taking every shortcut he knew. At one point he rushed past a pair of prefects also out of control, but with his cloak on they probably thought it was a gust of wind or something.

He finally slowed to a stop outside a classroom, checking on the Map to make sure it was the right one. He couldn't hear Ron shouting, so he hesitated. He tried for the door handle, but it wouldn't even turn. He aimed his wand and said the magic word Hermione had taught him and Ron so long ago.

"_Alohamora_!" he whispered. The door handle turned and the door turned gently open. Harry stepped into the room and ripped off his cloak and raised his wand, as the most vile and horrible spells he could think of flashed across his mind so that he could aim them at Ron.

Hermione yelped and she and Ron suddenly sprang apart. It took a moment for Harry to realise that they had been so close to each other, touching,..

_Oh no, no, no, please no._

"Harry?" Hermione gasped. "Oh my God, it's not what it looks like!"

His anger at Ron had been replaced by sheer shock. It took him a long time to come to terms with what he had just seen. When Hermione took a step forward Harry snapped to his senses and noticed that he had been about to lower his wand.

"You want to know what it looked like?" Harry growled. "It looked to me like you were just kissing that bastard."

"I can explain," Hermione pleaded.

"Oh?" Harry asked. "Well, let's hear it then."

Hermione's mouth opened, but then quickly closed again. She looked at the ground, as if desperately hoping it might have the answer for her.

"We've been seeing each other," Ron said. Harry's wand suddenly levelled at him, having forgotten for a moment he was even there. "While out on patrol we got to talking and stuff, and she forgave me for what I did and we... fell in love."

"How long as this been going on?" Harry asked.

"Ron, don't tell him anything more," Hermione pleaded.

"HOW LONG?" Harry roared, taking a few steps towards her. Ron stepped across to try and put himself between Harry and Hermione but a menacing thrust from Harry's wand made him step back as well.

"A few months," Ron replied quickly.

Harry tried to take a deep breath, hoping this might do something to abate his anger long enough to think clearly about this.

"A... few... months?" Harry asked. "And you were happy in all this time to keep stringing me along?"

"I love you both, Harry," Hermione said. "I didn't want to lose either of you."

"So you lied to me?" Harry demanded.

"We didn't know how you'd react," Ron said. "With the way you and me fell out we didn't think you'd want to share her."

"The way you and me fell out?" Harry repeated. He turned to Hermione. "What about all that stuff he said about you being a scarlet woman?"

"He's explained it all to me," Hermione said. "He only said all those things because he was jealous. I understand you feel the same way now, Harry. Believe me, this isn't the way we wanted you to find out."

"And how exactly was I supposed to find you?"

Hermione could not answer this. Harry's wand shifted, so that it was not aimed at Ron anymore. Now he had it aimed at Hermione.

"Which of us is it?" Harry asked.

"Harry, what -?"

"You can't be in love with both of us!" Harry snapped. "You have to choose. Which of us is it?"

"But Harry, I love both of you!" Hermione pleaded, tears starting to well in her eyes. "Please don't do this."

"No, that's impossible!" Harry roared. "You can't love two people like that. It won't work. You have to choose which one of us you really want!"

Hermione looked desperately from Harry to Ron and back again, almost pleading with one of them to do something. Harry felt his blood almost beginning to boil. She was actually considering that bastard after all he'd done to them, and the hell he'd put Harry through for nearly two years now.

"Put down your wand," Ron said.

"Shut up, Weasley!" Harry snapped.

"Put down the wand and let her choose!" Ron snapped back. "She can't make a decision if you're going to curse her for making the choice you don't like."

Harry told him where to shove it, but lowered his wand all the same. She was going to choose him. She had to. She wasn't even looking at Ron anymore. She was just staring at him.

"Harry," she said.

His heart began to race.

"I'm so sorry."

He turned away and looked at the window. Suddenly he didn't want to look at her. In fact, he never wanted to see her again. He turned around to look at Ron, who had the bloody nerve to actually to be smiling at her. For one moment all he wanted was the curse the smirk off of his face.

"Well, let's see if you still love him when he's a monster!" Harry snapped. He raised his wand and fired a curse with all the venom he could muster, and Ron suddenly stumbled backwards with a shriek, clutching his hands to his face.

"Ron!" Hermione cried, rushing over to his side while he rolled around in agony. Harry felt his lips twitch into a twisted smile. He had never smiled like that before. In fact, for one moment he felt positively thrilled. But as he watched her struggle to find a counter-curse the joy was replaced by seething anger. He stormed out of the room, vowing to never speak to either of them again.


	3. Alone

A/N: Response to the last chapter was pretty much what I expected. It only gets worse from here.

###

Harry was alone now. Dumbledore had tried to warn him about six months ago. Harry thought back to that night in Dumbledore's office.

"Tell me, Harry," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "What will you do with all this information I have given you?"

"I'll try and stop him," Harry said, wondering why Dumbledore even need to ask such a thing. The answer surely was obvious. "We'll find these Horcruxes and destroy them."

"Forgive me, Harry, perhaps I was not clear. I meant to ask whether or not you planned on sharing this information with your classmates." Harry blinked. He knew now what the Headmaster was hinting at, but he would continue to play dumb. He didn't want to discuss this anyway.

"Of course not, sir," he replied in the most innocent tone he could manage. "I wouldn't want this sort of information being passed around the school. What if Voldemort heard about it and knew we were looking for them?"

"A very good question, indeed, Harry," Dumbledore nodded. "But I think that it would be wise to entrust a few close confidents. Perhaps Mr Weasley and Miss Granger?"

"What about you, sir?" Harry asked. "Have you told any of _your_ close friends?" He smirked, feeling that at least he might be able to get out of this conversation if he accused Dumbledore of being a hypocrite.

"Of course. I have already relayed all of this information to Professor Snape."

"SNAPE!" Harry exclaimed. "Sir, are you sure you can trust him?" Harry flinched when he saw the angry look that now formed on Dumbledore's face.

"Harry, I have, again and _again_, expressed my support for Severus. I feel not need to repeat myself to a cheeky teenager." He paused. Harry gulped. "You are deliberately avoiding the issue at hand here. Refusing to acknowledge your friends is doing no one any favours."

"They're not my friends," Harry muttered.

"If I were you, I'd stick close to my friends," Dumbledore said. "We all need friends, Harry. Voldemort never had a friend in his life, and look what happened to him."

"Yeah, he's only the most powerful Dark Wizard who's ever lived, and his name will only be remembered for thousands of years to come."

"Yes, but _your_ name will also be remembered for thousands of years to come. You were the baby that stood up to the most powerful Dark Wizard that ever lived."

"Did I stand, sir? I don't remember. You see, I was a baby and totally incapable of coherent thought."

"Enough of this," Dumbledore said, holding up a hand. "I tire of your attitude, Harry. Why do you refuse to speak to your friends?"

"Some friends they turned out to be."

"They would die for you, Harry. Even now they still both love you."

"They have a funny way of showing it," Harry sighed. "Well, I still have Ginny."

This, at least, was true. Ginny had been a lot friendlier since Hermione had broken up with him. She had broken up with Dean so she could spend more time with him. Her company was beginning to get a bit tiresome though. Sure, she was funny, but not quite as funny as Ron. She was smart, but nothing on Hermione. She knew a fair bit about Quidditch, but other than that she didn't seem to have any other interests.

Other than her interest in Harry, of course.

Mrs Weasley had sent several owls expressing her joy that he was at least speaking to one of her children again. She didn't have many pleasant things to say about Hermione, even though she was now Ron's girlfriend. Harry also got the feeling she was pushing Harry towards a relationship with Ginny instead.

Dumbledore had scowled at the mention of Ginny. Obviously he did not approve.

"Yes, perhaps it would be best not to mention it to young Miss Weasley," he said, casting a glance at the remains of Tom Riddle's diary. "It might bring up some memories she'd rather forget."

Harry had agreed with him at the time, but now he felt that he'd be glad even of Ginny's company. After Dumbledore had been murdered by Snape, Harry had left Hogwarts and gone alone on the Horcrux Hunt. Unfortunately Dumbledore had given him no hints where to look, and so Harry found himself just Apparating from Muggle hotel to Muggle hotel, occasionally checking the libraries for any references in old newspapers to strange disappearances.

This turned out to be a totally fruitless exercise. His Muggle cash was running out. He'd soon have to make a trip to Diagon Alley for supplies. He hadn't seen a wizard or witch in the four months since the funeral. He had no idea what state the wizarding world was in. He was sure he would have heard if Voldemort had taken over completely.

What Harry really needed, and he knew it, was Ron and Hermione. Hermione would surely have been brilliant when it came to searching for clues. Ron would perhaps not be so good at that aspect, but he would help to keep the spirits up and it would always be useful to have another hand in a fight.

Harry lay awake in a hotel one night pondering his next move. There was nothing else for it but to find Ron and Hermione. But before he could make the long trip to Hogwarts (he could only assume that it was still open) he would stop by Fred and George's. If he Apparated straight into the shop they could help him get all the supplies he needed without the risk of being seen in Diagon Alley. They still probably felt they owed him after he'd given them the gold that had gotten their business up and running.

When he woke up the next morning he did not feel quite the same despair he did most mornings. Having a plan at all seemed to make all the difference. He had breakfast at the hotel before checking out, feeling that he didn't want to arrive too early. He didn't think the Weasley twins would be early risers.

He found an empty street to Apparate from. Visualising the Weasleys' shop (he had visited once last summer, though that visit had been cut short when Ron had turned up) he spun on the spot and Apparated.

The shop was empty when he landed in it. Despite the walls being laden with colours it still seemed fairly dreary without any customers. He was looking around when suddenly a redheaded man appeared from nowhere.

"Hey, you can't Apparate in here!" he man said. "What if you'd landed in the fireworks cabinet?"

"George, it's me," Harry said. The man looked confused for a moment before a look of comprehension dawned on his face.

"Sorry, Harry," George said. "Didn't recognise you with the beard and all the hair. Come on. You can't stand here in the shop all day. What if someone sees you?"

Harry wasn't sure who was likely to see him. Outside looked even bleaker than in the shop, but he allowed George to drag him through behind the counter to where they had some kind of storage room. Harry refrained from asking what all of it was and allowed George to drag him into an office which had ample room for two desks. Both were absolutely covered in paper, sweets and magazines. Behind one desk sat Fred Weasley, who was identical to his twin right down to the last spot on his nose.

"Look who stopped by, Fred," George said happily, pulling Harry to a halt right in front of Fred's desk. Fred surveyed Harry for a moment.

"Love the beard, Potter," Fred said. Harry felt his cheeks grow a bit warm. Since he'd left Hogwarts he had not felt much need to keep up with personal hygiene. His hair was long and unkempt, and he'd allowed his beard to grow out. This had the added bonus of acting as a bit of a disguise, but his green eyes and scar were as distinctive as ever.

"So what brings you here, Harry?" George asked. "No one's seen you in months. The Prophet reported you were dead." 

"No, I've been looking for something," Harry replied. "Anyway, I came back because I need Ron and Hermione's help. But before I can do anything, I need some supplies. Like money, food –."

"A razor and a shower," Fred added helpfully. "George has had about four B.O. Bonbons today and I can still smell you over him." Harry looked at George quizzically.

"We're experimenting," George told him. "If you can't smell me then I'm probably due another one." He wandered over to his desk to rummage around a bit.

"What have you been looking for, then?" Fred asked.

"Oh, it's something Dumbledore asked me to do. It's to do with Voldemort."

George's rummaging suddenly stopped and Fred's face turned as pale as a ghost.

"What?" Harry asked, turning his head to look from twin to twin. "What's wrong?" Fred sprung up from behind his desk and grabbed Harry.

"You've got to go!" he said. "Apparate away, now. Anywhere! We'll try and hold them off."

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"It's the Taboo, Harry," George said. "You can't say his name."

"I know you guys don't like me using the name, but isn't kicking me out of the shop a bit much?" Harry asked, thinking this was a joke.

"No, it's the Taboo," Fred tried to explain. "Whenever you use You-Know-Who's name they can trace it. There's a squad of Death Eaters on their way here now!"

There was a sudden explosion from the shop. All three of them were knocked off of their feet.

"Judging by that sound, they tried to use a Reductor Curse to get in," George grumbled, rising to his feet. "Typical Death Eaters. They'll kill us all with their incompetence."

"Oh really?" a voice asked. George suddenly seemed to notice a wand prodding his neck. He turned around to look at the attackers. Harry could already see them from where he as still lying on his back. George was being held at wand-point by Bellatrix Lestrange. Behind her were Fenrir Greyback and two other Death Eaters Harry did not recognise. Harry tried to grab his wand from his pocket but one of the Death Eaters had disarmed him before he had a chance. Fred and George were similarly disarmed.

There was no fighting it. They were caught.


	4. Death of a Hero

###

When Harry opened his eyes again was dark. He felt piece of cloth across his eyes. He was blindfolded and his hands were bound tight behind his back. He couldn't feel the reassuring presence of his wand in his pocket. Obviously they'd taken it.

There was a cool breeze blowing against his face. They must be outside now. The Death Eaters would have brought them to where Voldemort was hiding. Perhaps they would do this outside, in the open air.

"On your feet!" the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange snapped. "You've got a bit of walking to do. If I were you I'd enjoy it. You're not likely to see open air again."

"We can't see it now," Fred said. There was a loud grunt. It sounded like one of the Death Eaters had kicked him.

Harry found himself being hauled to his feet by a strong hand and being thrust forward. He took a few wobbly steps forward. One of the Death Eaters prodded him with a wand to send him back along their desired path.

The walk was mercifully short, and soon Harry heard a door close behind him and the cool breeze that had been tickling his neck stopped. The Death Eaters brought them to a halt.

"Wait here," Bellatrix ordered. A door opened and closed, and Harry was left to listen to the heavy breathing of the Death Eaters and the twins.

"Fred, George; are you okay?" Harry asked.

"No talking!" one of the Death Eaters growled, smacking him across the head. Harry was silent again.

Suddenly a door opened.

"The Dark Lord is ready for you," Bellatrix whispered excitedly. "Get them moving!"

Harry was roughly shoved forward into the next room. He stumbled forwards until someone stopped him. A sharp pain on the back of his legs dropped him to his knees, and he heard the grunts of Fred and George to his left and right that suggested they were being subjected to the same treatment.

"Remove their blindfolds!" the unmistakable voice of Lord Voldemort ordered.

Harry's eyes were suddenly freed, though it took him a moment to adjust to the sudden light. He was kneeling at the base of a lavish staircase, and Lord Voldemort stood alone at the very top. To his left and right he could make out the hooded figures of the Death Eaters. Furthest forward was Bellatrix Lestrange, the only one with her hood down, in her moment of triumph.

"Their wands?" Voldemort asked. Bellatrix made her way up the first few steps to present three wands to Voldemort and bow her head. Voldemort ignored two of the wands and picked out just the one; Harry's wand.

"Ah, brother to my own wand," Voldemort said, examining it. "I'm sorry Harry." He did not look at him, but continued to look at the wand. "I cannot offer you a sporting duel to the end. This wand was nearly my downfall before. I will not make the same mistake twice." He suddenly took two hands to the wand and snapped it in half. Harry could not help but gasp.

"That was nothing, my dear boy," Voldemort said, taking a few steps down. "Now I shall break your friends as well. I shall break them in half and you shall watch. Then I will subject you to tortures the likes of which you cannot imagine. You will beg for death before the end." He gave a twisted smile and glanced at each of the Weasley twins.

"But who wants to go first?" he asked. Fred and George did not cower, but met Voldemort's stares with their own. Voldemort seemed almost amused by this. He pointed his wand at George.

"_Crucio_!"

George gave a blood-curling shriek. Fred winced almost as though it hurt him as well. Harry saw him close his eyes to try and block out his twin's cries. Lord Voldemort noticed this and pointed his wand at Fred, forcing him to open his eyes and turn his head to watch his twin's torture.

Voldemort suddenly lifted the curse, and George tumbled forward, struggling for breath.

"Do you have something to ask me?" Voldemort asked George. "Do you want to beg for release?"

George panted for a moment, still unable to look up. It was a long moment before he could raise his head. "Bite me," he hissed. Voldemort gave a cold laugh and cast the Cruciatus Curse again. George shrieked in pain again.

Voldemort did not let up. Every now and then he would release the curse to give George a chance to beg for death. George said nothing. Harry was not sure he could have said something even if he wanted to. When mere physical pain was not working, Voldemort decided a different approach.

"_Legilimens_!"

George grunted as Voldemort invaded his mind, probing his thoughts for weakness.

"Young George," Voldemort said at last. "The younger twin. Your brother has always been the dominant twin, yes? He made the plans. He made the decisions. He got the girl, no?" He cast a glance at Fred. "Yes, I wonder if you ever knew that your brother was in love with your girlfriend." Voldemort laughed. "Oh, how much he wanted her. Longed to touch her, as you had. He never shall, now._ Love;_ how pathetic."

"I knew," Fred said. "He never said anything, but I knew. And I'm sorry. I should have been a man and stood aside." Fred looked at his twin. "I love you man."

George couldn't find strength to speak, but his eyes were now welling with tears.

"Will you beg for his death then?" Voldemort asked Fred. "Will you ask for the brother you... _love_... to be spared any more pain."

Harry glanced from Fred to George, who seemed to be exchanging some kind of telepathic communication.

"Yes," Fred said, tears now forming in his own eyes. "Please."

"Very well," Voldemort announced. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

George's panting for breath suddenly stopped and his eyes seemed to drift off as if he was daydreaming. Harry look from George's frozen face to Fred's horror stricken one.

"That was nothing," Voldemort told them. "You have no twin now to beg for your mercy. You will soon wish you had gone first."

Fred's screams seemed to take hours to die out, before only Harry was left. The limp bodies of his friends lay a few paces either side of him. His knees were stiff and sore, and his eyes were starting to droop. Before Voldemort had ever even pointed a wand at him he was utterly shattered.

"_Crucio_!"

Harry screamed until his throat was hoarse and he was sure he could never speak again, but the pain kept coming and all he could do was sob and shout at the top of his lungs. He wondered just how long it would take for his mind to break completely. Maybe when that happened there wouldn't be any pain anymore. Maybe his maddened brain wouldn't be able to pick up any pain.

"How do you feel, Harry?" Voldemort asked during a brief break. "Do you want to die yet?"

Harry tried to clear his throat. It took a few attempts before he could speak.

"You're a coward," Harry hissed. "You torture a couple of kids with their hands tied and their wands taken away from them, and you act like you're the top dog. You talk about tortures beyond imagination, but all you've got is Cruciatus. You're a one-trick pony. Why don't you just stop embarrassing yourself with this pathetic show of power, man up and do what you were too much of a wuss to do seventeen years ago?"

Voldemort's face contorted in anger. Harry was sure Fred and George would have been proud. He mustered what strength he had to stand up and meet Lord Voldemort's glare.

"Filthy, Muggle-loving fool!" Voldemort shouted. "You have no idea! You think that this is all I have? You are about to know what true pain is, you insolent boy! _CRUCIO_!"

Harry's body suddenly rocked with pain, but he fought it with all his might. Despite every moment of agony he managed to stay standing with strength he never even knew he had. He stood defiantly staring at Voldemort past the pain, until his body started to go numb and darkness began to snap at the corner of his eyes.

Voldemort seemed to sense it coming. He withdrew the curse, and Harry suddenly found he could not stand anymore. His eyes closed and he fell backwards. However his fall was cushioned by someone small. He was lowered more gently onto the ground, and suddenly he smelt something wonderful. With his eyes closed for a moment he was sure he was at the Burrow. He would open his eyes and he's be sitting in the Weasley's kitchen. Ron must have been polishing his broom, and Mrs Weasley had made his favourite dessert; treacle tart.

And there would be Hermione. His beautiful, wonderful Hermione. She would be sitting beside him, talking about that Transfiguration homework Harry had been putting off or something like that.

He felt a goblet being forced to his mouth. He sipped at it. It was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. He really hoped Mrs Weasley made this again sometime.

The smells started to fade. Harry tried to open his eyes to see what was wrong but his eyelids were too heavy to lift. He felt his grip on consciousness begin to fade, and Harry's last thought as he died was that he would never get to see Hermione again...


	5. A Woman Scorned

A/N: Put a bit of work in and got these last two chapters finished before I read any reviews from the third chapter, fearing they might put me off finishing this. After the first chapter some people seemed to have been expecting a fluffy Harmonious ending, but that was never on the cards. I'm sorry to those that wanted something else from this fic. Here is the final chapter, as it was always meant to be.

###

With his greatest enemy dealt with, Voldemort was ready to squash out the last pockets of resistance to his reign within the walls of Hogwarts. He could not have lead the attack himself as he was wearied from his time torturing Harry, but instead sent one of his most trusted lieutenants to lead in his place.

This lieutenant would have to be someone who knew the enchantments around the castle well. Someone who had spent long nights studying the wards Dumbledore had created to protect the castle. With that knowledge the Death Eater would just have to fling open the gates and walk up to the castle, utterly unimpeded. Severus Snape might have such knowledge, but he was not to be trusted. Voldemort was sure that he was secretly trying to help Harry, but his plans had failed. Now he had to be eliminated before he could escape.

The leader would have to be ruthless. There would be children involved here. It would have to be someone so full of hate that they stare straight into the eyes of a cowering child and laugh while they tortured and killed them. Bellatrix Lestrange might have had such ruthlessness, but she could not be trusted to keep her mind on the task at hand. She would become overconfident and make mistakes.

This person would have to know the castle well. They would have to be someone who had spent years crawling through the deepest, darkest dungeons for every hidden passageway imaginable. They would need to know how to catch Dumbledore's Army, should they try to escape. Peter Pettigrew would know all of this, but his cowardice rendered him useless for such a role.

Perhaps what they needed the most was trust. The leader would have to be someone that the fools in Hogwarts trusted with their deepest secrets. Someone who could walk right up to them and look them straight in the eye without them ever knowing a thing. Only one Death Eater had this quality...

She could walk straight into any Common Room she wanted. Boys were so easy for her to manipulate; she could get passwords from any of them. She had led the Death Eaters to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first. It had been so easy to sneak in and tear the members of Dumbledore's Army from their beds.

For Gryffindor, however, she had another plan. It was her own house, and she had special plans for several of its residents.

She strode straight into the Common Room. Several people were still writing away at their essays. Typical Gryffindors. They always left it to the last possible minute.

One of them looked up.

"Oh, Ginny, you're back. Can you help me with my Transfiguration homework?" the girl, Sarah, asked.

"Scream for me," Ginny hissed.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"_Crucio_!"

_That'll do it_," Ginny thought with a hint of satisfaction as Sarah shrieked in agony. The Death Eaters took their cue and sprang from the shadows where they had been hiding under Disillusionment Charms. They grabbed those still hanging around in the Common Room and tossed them into a corner to hold at wand-point. Other Gryffindors charged down the stairs with their wands in hand, but they were charging headfirst into a line of Death Eaters. Despite Ginny's orders, some cast the killing curse. She could not allow her fellow Gryffindor to die so quickly.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" she shouted. Her spell killed one of her own Death Eaters. The rest quickly got the message and reverted to using Stunning Spells again.

It did not take long. The students spilling down the staircase were no match for the Death Eaters waiting at the bottom. Many students were stunned before they even got a chance to look around the room. Ginny took care to cast the spell with extra venom, hoping to knock some students backwards and stop a pile-up at the bottom of the stairs.

Eventually the flow of students slowed to a halt. Ginny and Bellatrix charged up the girls' staircase to make sure no one remained, sending the other Death Eaters up the boys' staircase.

Bellatrix had initially been reluctant to follow the younger woman's lead, but she would not dare question the will of the Dark Lord, and seeing how ruthless Ginny had been with her fellow students had encouraged her to follow Ginny. Now she followed obediently as Ginny led her up the staircase. In the fifth year dormitories a few girls remained to put up a fight, and one timid first year was cowering at the very top of the staircase. Ginny stunned her like the rest, and kicked her body down the staircase. Even Bellatrix seemed taken aback as the young girl rolled down the stairs.

Ginny and Bellatrix came back down again to where the other Death Eaters were preparing the room. They took wands away from them all and bound their hands before reviving them, throwing them into sofas and chairs all pointed at the centre of the room, where Ginny wanted to host her demonstration.

The younger ones began to cry, and a few of the older ones even joined in. They tried to huddle together for comfort but with their hands bound it was futile.

"Where are they?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"This way, my lady," one of the Death Eaters said. Ginny gave a smile at the way the Death Eaters seemed to address her. Neither Ginny nor the Dark Lord had insisted upon this, but they seemed to have picked it up anyway.

Kneeling in the centre of the room were Ron and Hermione, who were looking at her with eyes stretched wide in shock. Ron's face still bore the scars of Harry's curse over a year ago when he'd caught Hermione and Ron together – at least half of his face was ruined and purple, like a hideous burn.

"How could you?" Hermione asked. "What about your family?"

"How could I not?" Ginny replied. "Voldemort is going to win whatever we do. Did you honestly think that little after-school club we started would be able to stop him? So I made a deal to make sure I'd be safe. And my family will be safe... well, relatively safe." She gave a sly grin.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "What's happened?"

"Unfortunately, my dear brother, tonight we lost two brothers," Ginny told him, enjoying the look of horror that swept across his face. "Fred and George were tortured and murdered by the Dark Lord. It was regrettable, but necessary."

"How can you be so cold?" Hermione pleaded. "What happened? Why are you doing this?"

"How can _I_ be so cold?" Ginny asked, grabbing Hermione's hair. Hermione shrieked in pain. "What about you? How could you do that to poor Harry? He loved you!"

"Oh, please tell me that's not what this is about," Hermione pleaded. "You never got over your silly crush on him. You deserve better Ginny; he was never going to love you like you deserved."

"He did love me!" Ginny spat in Hermione face. "We belonged together. We... we were... soulmates! And you had to go and ruin it! He loved you and you threw back in his face and took up with this PATHETIC LOSER! _Crucio_!"

Ron roared in agony as the spell suddenly caught him the chest. Ginny let go of Hermione and rushed over to her brother.

"And you claimed to be his best friend," Ginny snapped, prodding at her now shrieking brother with her wand. Ron flinched away from where her wand touched his skin. "You're as guilty as she is."

Ginny took a deep breath and suddenly seemed to go calm. She released the spell's hold on him.

"But you're still my brother," Ginny said. "I'll let you live. I made the deal with Voldemort."

"But Ginny, Voldemort wants to kill Harry!" Hermione tried to reason with her. "Why would you join someone who wants to kill Harry?"

"I made a deal, Hermione," Ginny said, a slightly mad look crossing her face. "Voldemort's going to let Harry live in exchange for my help. We're going to be together forever."

"He's lying, Ginny! He's lying!"

"No, I know he's not. Harry is a Horcrux. Yes, I know you know what a Horcrux is. He has a part of Voldemort's soul inside him. As long as Harry lives he cannot die, so I'm going to keep Harry safe. He's going to stay with me and we'll be happy and safe."

"Harry would never agree to that!" Ron growled. "Voldemort killed his parents."

"Well." Ginny shifted uneasily. "Maybe he needed some... encouragement... at first. But he'll accept it, and when he realises that he's always loved me then he'll accept how things are."

"You used a love potion, didn't you?" Hermione demanded. "You drugged him into falling in love with you. Ginny, you can't do this!"

"He's already in love with me!" Ginny shouted. "He's always loved me! We're going to be together and have lots of beautiful children together, and you won't be there... He'll have forgotten about you..."

"Ginny, this is insane," Hermione begged. "You don't want to live this lie your whole life. Harry doesn't love you and he never will."

"Shut up! I knew you could never understand!"

"Ginny, please listen."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

"Ginny?" Bellatrix asked, taking an uneasy step forward.

Ginny levelled her wand at Hermione.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!"

###

Harry was making dinner when she got back to Grimmauld Place that evening. She smiled and tried to creep up on him.

"Hi, love," Harry said, turning around suddenly and grabbing her. "I missed you."

"Yes," Ginny said. "Yes you did."

"How did that thing go?" Harry asked. "That business you had to take care of."

"Oh, it was great," Ginny said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It was fantastic, actually. Work won't be bothering me for a while. We could go on holiday for a while."

"Where to?" Harry asked.

"Wherever we like, love," Ginny replied. "I've taken care of everything. We're going to be safe from now on. Did you remember to take your potion?"

"Of course," Harry replied. "I don't want to get sick. I'm really glad I've got you to brew that potion for me everything. Don't know what I'd do without you to look after me."

"Don't worry, Harry," Ginny said, hugging Harry close. "I'm going to look after you. And we'll be together forever now."


End file.
